Under Mary's Oak

  This year was particularly important for the school as they were due to celebrate their 75th anniversary next year and intended to publish a CD showing the activities of the pupils throughout the year. Some of Arthur’s photographs would undoubtedly make their way onto the CD.

  The girls really enjoyed themselves. Jen Smythe had organised an old-fashioned sports day with egg and spoon races, and indoor hurdles and relays. It was good to have such a fun activity to take their minds off the horrors of the weekend. Afterwards, as the girls drank squash and ate ginger biscuits and the parents enjoyed scones and cream, Jen Smythe approached Laura.

  ‘Could I have a quick word?’ she asked looking terribly embarrassed.

  ‘Yes, of course,’ Laura replied.

  ‘Can we go somewhere private?’

  ‘Why don’t you come up to my office when everyone has gone? The Chairman is leaving now, so I shall be free.’

  ‘Yes, I’ll do that.’

  ***

  Fifteen minutes later, Jen tapped on Laura’s door.

  ‘Come in and sit down,’ said Laura. In the past fifteen minutes she had wondered what Jen wanted to say. She thought nothing would surprise her given what had happened in the last few days. But she was wrong.

  ‘I’m really sorry, and I’m sure it’s all perfectly innocent,’ Jen began and then paused.

  Laura remained silent, not wanting to interrupt what Jen had obviously geared herself up to say, but she smiled encouragingly.

  ‘Some of the girls were a bit upset this afternoon,’ Jen continued.

  ‘Well, that’s understandable,’ Laura said.

  ‘Not because of Richard.’

  ‘What then?’

  ‘They were getting changed after the races, and the Chairman came into the changing rooms to take pictures.’

  ‘Oh, dear. That’s not right,’ said Laura, a little flustered herself now. ‘I’m sure he didn’t mean anything by it. He would just be getting carried away with the occasion. It’s seems to be the in-thing now to have photographs of the whole event including before and after. A friend of mine who was mother of the bride was mortified when the photographer came into her bedroom as she was getting ready, but apparently the bride and bridesmaids all thought it was fine.’

  Laura was aware she was babbling a bit. If truth be told, she was shocked, but she knew it would be innocent.

  ‘I’m sure he would be mortified to think he had caused offence. What happened?’ she continued.

  ‘I didn’t hear about it until after he’d left the changing room. I’d been in the next door changing room with year 7 and Tilly Broadbent from year 8 came through and said several of the girls were upset, and she’d been elected to come and talk to me.’

  ‘Yes, I can imagine that. I think we’ll see Tilly in number ten one day.’

  ‘She asked me if I thought it was right?’

  ‘What did you say?’

  ‘Well, more or less, what you said. That he was trying to get some candid shots and that he would be very selective in the ones he used. That he was concentrating on their excited faces, and nothing else. That he was a bit like an enthusiastic grandfather supporting his granddaughter at her first sports day.’

  ‘And how did she take it?’

  ‘All right, I think, but it will be interesting to see if we get any complaints tomorrow from parents.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Laura. ‘I’ll have a word with him. It won’t happen again. I know he took some photographs a few weeks ago of the drama group in their dressing room, but Mary had staged it and made sure everybody was decent. He probably just got over-excited with his new camera.’

  ‘Thank you,’ said Jen as she took her leave.

  When she had gone, Laura sat down and breathed out all her bad thoughts again. It was getting to be a habit, but it really did seem to work. What was the world coming to? How could he be so stupid? This photography lark was going to his head. He must think he’s David Bailey or somebody like that, she mused. It wouldn’t be an easy conversation. Why did this have to happen today of all days, with everything else she had to deal with? Well, at least, she could leave it for another day.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Tony Banks was looking decidedly nervous as Jenkins and Todd entered the room. He had been kept waiting for about twenty minutes in a deliberate ploy to undermine whatever confidence he had left.

  ‘Well, Mr Banks, we meet again’ said Jenkins breezily.

  ‘I told you everything I know yesterday. Why am I here again?’ asked Banks in a display of bravado.

  ‘Just one or two things that have surfaced,’ said Jenkins. ‘You told us that you suggested to Hart that Andy Logan would lend money to him.’

  ‘Yeah.’ Banks continued his strategy of giving the briefest of answers until he could work out how much the inspector actually knew.

  ‘When was this?’

  ‘’Bout a year ago.’

  ‘And Hart paid it off?’

  ‘Yeah, he had a big win and cleared it a few days later.’

  ‘Did Hart tell you anything about the loan? About the arrangements, the interest?’

  ‘No, not really.’

  ‘Come on, Mr Banks. ‘Not really isn’t a proper answer. Either he did or he didn’t.’ Jenkins didn’t want a repeat of the previous day’s interview when he had to extract each answer painfully.

  ‘No, then,’ said Banks, the sweat starting to show on his forehead.

  ‘And how did you know Logan would lend him the money?’

  ‘I’d just heard it. Maybe a mate mentioned it. I can’t remember.’

  ‘So have you borrowed money from Logan?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You’ve never had any dealings with him then?’

  ‘No, I’ve told you.’

  Jenkins made a show of searching through his notes and looking pensive.

  ‘And you said Hart borrowed money again?’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘From Logan?’

  ‘I suppose so, but I’m not sure.’

  ‘Did he pay that loan back?’

  ‘Dunno.’

  ‘Well, was he winning or losing?’

  ‘Mostly losing,’ admitted Banks.

  ‘So it wasn’t likely that he could pay it back then,’ concluded Jenkins. ‘I don’t suppose Logan was very pleased about that.’

  ‘Look, I’ve told you I don’t know,’ Banks said. ‘I don’t even know if he borrowed the money from Logan the second time.’

  ‘And Hart didn’t tell you he was worried that he couldn’t pay it back?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘He didn’t talk about any other ways he could repay the debt?’

  ‘Like what?’

  ‘You tell me, Mr Banks.’

  ‘No, he didn’t.’

  ‘Do you think Logan might have been involved in the death of Richard Hart?’

  Banks moved nervously in his chair, and the bead of sweat grew on his forehead and started to move down to his eyebrow. He licked his lips, and rubbed the palm of his right hand on his trousers.

  ‘No, why would he have anything to do with it?’ he asked.

  ‘Your body language is telling me a different story,’ said Jenkins. ‘I believe the thought has crossed your mind. I believe it’s more than crossed your mind. I believe you think he did it.’

  ‘I’ve told you. I don’t know anything about it.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Jenkins slowly as if the thought had just entered his mind, ‘Logan wouldn’t do it himself would he? He wouldn’t get his hands dirty. He’d get someone else to do the deed.’

  ‘Dunno,’ repeated Banks.

  ‘Maybe one of his henchmen. Or somebody else. Maybe somebody who knew Hart,’ and Jenkins leant across the table for the kill. ‘Maybe you!’

  ‘But I wouldn’t,’ spluttered Banks. ‘Richard was my mate. We’d known each other since we were kids.’

  ‘Stranger things hav
e happened,’ said Jenkins. ‘Did you murder Richard Hart?’

  ‘No,’ said Banks adamantly.

  ‘Do you know who did?’

  ‘No,’ he repeated.

  Jenkins decided to change tack.

  ‘Do you know who owns The Crazy Lady?’

  Banks blinked nervously, the question taking him by surprise.

  ‘Er, no.’

  ‘Would it surprise you to hear it’s Logan’s sister?’

  ‘What’s that got to do with anything?’

  ‘What indeed, Mr Banks? What indeed?’

  Jenkins looked through his notes again, taking his time to increase the pressure on Banks.

  ‘Do you know a Harry Westbury?’

  ‘No.’ Banks looked genuinely puzzled.

  ‘Or Jason Burton?’

  That one hit home. Banks looked like a startled rabbit caught in the headlights of a car.

  ‘No,’ he lied.

  ‘Right, then,’ said Jenkins. ‘That’s all for now. We might want to see you again.’

  ‘I’ve told you all I know.’

  ‘So you say, Mr Banks. Todd, see him out, will you?’

  When Todd returned a few minutes later, he said, ‘Why have you let him go? He obviously knows something.’

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Jenkins. ‘But I want Logan, and I need Banks to give him up. The only way he’ll do that is if he’s more worried about me than Logan. I need him to think about our conversation today and to start to wonder just how much I know. If he’s implicated in all of this he might try to save his own skin.’

  ‘Clever!’ said Todd, genuinely.

  ‘And,’ said Jenkins. ‘He might go back to Logan to report on today’s conversation. Let’s get Nugent and Spense to put him under surveillance and we’ll talk to him again tomorrow morning.’

  Chapter Twenty

  Amy pushed her chair back from the dining table.

  ‘That was delicious, thank you,’ she said to Robert. ‘I wish I had someone at home like you.’

  Robert laughed. ‘Well, it works quite well. As I work from home it makes sense for me to cook during the week. Laura more than makes up for it at the weekend.’

  ‘Not last weekend,’ said Laura ruefully.

  ‘No,’ Robert agreed.

  Over the meal they had shared their dilemma with Robert. Laura had no qualms about involving him. He was the soul of discretion. In previous situations he had proved himself invaluable because his distance from the people involved had allowed him to be more objective. In this case, he was as surprised as Laura had been, and other than offering his moral support he had no other observations.

  ‘We’ll take our coffee through to the study, shall we?’ Laura said to Amy.

  ‘Good luck!’ said Robert as he started to clear the table.

  ‘We’ll need it,’ said Laura.

  Laura’s study overlooked the garden, and it was a lovely May evening. The birds were still busy feeding from the seed holder hanging under the wooden bird table. The sun was just disappearing behind the trees at the back of the property, and long shadows were cast across the lawn.

  ‘This is a peaceful spot,’ said Amy, standing at the window.

  Laura and Robert had bought their home in Backworth when they first married. The village was certainly peaceful and they enjoyed the location, close enough to school, and to the centre of Newcastle and its many attractions, but also within striking distance of their beloved coast and the fantastic scenery of the Northumbrian countryside.

  ‘Yes,’ agreed Laura. ‘We love living here. Robert has his studio over there behind the garage, and the garden is quite secluded. We’re not really overlooked by anyone.’

  ‘Not like me,’ said Amy, with feeling. ‘I feel as though I live in a goldfish bowl. I’ve got no privacy at all. The neighbours seem to know everything I do!’

  They were reluctant to begin, knowing they had a difficult job to do, but at last they sat down and Laura asked, ‘So did you find out anything?’

  ‘Yes, I did,’ replied Amy. She seemed a little hesitant about continuing.

  ‘I know this is difficult and you think you’re betraying a confidence. Can you tell me what you’ve found out without giving me a name? Would that help?’

  Amy seemed relieved. She had discovered another of Richard’s blackmail victims but, of course, blackmail can only be successful if the victim doesn’t want the truth to be told. Neither Laura nor Amy really knew if blackmail was the reason Richard had been killed, and if it wasn’t Amy felt obliged to keep the secret she had been told.

  ‘Yes, it would. Thank you.’ Amy smiled weakly. ‘It isn’t that I don’t trust you.’

  ‘You don’t have to explain. I know there are lots of things my staff don’t want me to know, and if it doesn’t affect their ability to do the job or impact on the school it’s none of my business,’ Laura said reassuringly.

  ‘I’ll call her Juliette.’

  ‘As good a name as any,’ said Laura. There was no-one on the staff called Juliette.

  ‘When Juliette was a teenager, she was raped and she became pregnant. She was only fourteen and she had a baby girl. Luckily for her, her mum and dad were very supportive of her and they brought up the baby as their own. The baby is now ten years old and she thinks Juliette is her sister.’

  Laura was saddened that a member of her staff had been so cruelly treated. ‘And you’re saying Richard found out?’

  ‘Yes. I remembered she’d been really upset a few months back and she wouldn’t say what was bothering her. She said it was personal and she didn’t want to talk about it, but on several occasions it was obvious she’d been crying overnight and not sleeping. After our conversation yesterday I went back to her and asked her if it had anything to do with Richard?’

  ‘And what did she say?’

  ‘She was in her classroom at the end of the day, and Richard had come in. He asked her how her daughter was.’

  ‘That must have been a shock.’

  ‘Yes, Juliette thought she might have misheard, but it became obvious she hadn’t. Juliette’s mum and dad moved a couple of times around the birth so that neighbours didn’t know it was Juliette’s baby, but the birth certificate gives Juliette as the mother. Juliette is an only child and it’s a small family so it was quite easy for them to pretend that the baby was Juliette’s sister. Juliette was a teenager with a bright future and her parents didn’t want this terrible event to ruin her life so they chose to let her continue with her education and she went on to university and qualified as a teacher.’

  ‘Did they catch the rapist?’

  ‘Yes, it was her violin teacher.’

  ‘Oh, the poor girl!’ exclaimed Laura. Laura knew that catching the rapist meant there would have been a trial and that the ordeal of giving evidence could be just as traumatic as the rape itself.

  ‘And what did Richard say?’

  ‘He threatened to tell Juliette’s sister that she was really her daughter.’

  Laura realised that she didn’t know Richard at all. The man who was being described was no-one she knew. He was a monster intent on destroying other people’s lives, for money.

  ‘But how did he know?’ she asked.

  Amy shook her head. ‘Juliette doesn’t really know and she didn’t ask him. It was enough that he knew, but apparently it was in all the papers at the time, and even though Juliette’s identity was not released one of the local papers hinted at it.’

  ‘So what did she do?’

  ‘She paid him £200 a month to keep quiet. She knew her sister would find out some time because of the birth certificate, but Juliette’s mum is really ill at the moment and if it all came out now it would cause real heartache for the whole family.’

  Laura stood up and went to the window. She had also had a conversation with a member of staff, which she didn’t need to share with Amy. Amy now knew that Richard was a
blackmailer and that he had at least two victims. Laura knew there was a third. Nine months before, she had interviewed for a post in the geography department. On the day of the interview, references for one of the applicants had failed to arrive and she had asked Josie to chase them up. When Josie had asked to speak to the Headmaster of the applicant’s previous school it became apparent that the woman, Lucy, who had turned up for interview was in fact a man undergoing transgender change.

  Laura and Josie did not share that information with anyone else so that the decision about who to appoint would be unaffected. And at the end of the day all those involved in the interview process wanted to appoint Lucy. Lucy was the best qualified, and had the personality that would best match the other two in the department. Laura always took the view that a person’s private life was just that unless it spilled over into school, and was happy to appoint her. Lucy had asked for her background to remain secret. The reason she had chosen to move schools was so that she could have a fresh start. As all the personnel records were kept in Josie’s office keeping it a secret should not be a problem.

  Laura had spoken to Lucy before coming home with Amy this evening. Lucy had confirmed that Richard had discovered her secret and that she was paying him £200 a month. It seemed to be the going rate for Richard’s silence. But how was he finding out all of this information?

  ‘Did Stella give you the details of that website?’ she asked Amy.

  ‘Yes,’ said Amy, opening her diary to find the address she had scribbled down.

  Laura switched on her computer and typed in the website URL. Annoyingly she discovered that she could not access the individual escort’s pages without registering and paying the sign-up fee of £125! She chose not to do that, and was about to close the site when she noticed something.